Some element of luck in everything. And, of course, Bono is a huge reason why U2 has been so successful. And so is The Edge and the soundscapes he creates that allows Bono to do what he does. U2 is a band. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole kinda thing to the max.

Keep in mind there is no other band that, from its original 4 members achieved that level of success for as long as U2 has. They stand alone in that respect. The same 4 guys that formed the band in the late 70's are the same 4 guys selling out global stadium tours today. They successfully navigated the traps of superstardom and all the drama, controversy and decadence that can bring better than any other rock and roll band in history. That's not luck.

They were also smart enough to limit their output to 14 albums in 40 years..
Yes I think we acknowledge U2 is a great band.. with their own unique sound... but there has been a lot of great bands with unique sounds..
Steely Dan
The Greatful Dead
The eagles
Fleetwood Mac. Etc etc...
Hell the Beatles put out 13 studio albums in 8 years..

Point is U2 is a great band but not something in a league of there own minus longevity on 14 records.. which is something more than talent

That's seriously some of the silliest stuff I've ever read. I guess I can understand telling yourself this stuff to pretend you're better than one of the world's pre-eminent musicians, a mega-star with multiple endorsements and platinum records, but to share that publicly is more than a little sad, my dude.

The Edge is a exponentially better guitar player than anyone posting here (outside of the off-chance lurking celebrity types) because people fill up stadiums to see him play guitar. No amount of angry tears changes this fact.

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Pure idiocy. Almost every single word. Also some wild assumptions. You even managed to wiggle in the ‘he’s popular, so that means he’s great/you’re just jealous’ tgp trope. Good job!

‘Exponentially better than anyone posting here’. Lol. I’d like you to give me a detailed ranking of every single person’s skill level that posts on this board. Stat.

They were also smart enough to limit their output to 14 albums in 40 years..
Yes I think we acknowledge U2 is a great band.. with their own unique sound... but there has been a lot of great bands with unique sounds..
Steely Dan
The Greatful Dead
The eagles
Fleetwood Mac. Etc etc...
Hell the Beatles put out 13 studio albums in 8 years..

Point is U2 is a great band but not something in a league of there own minus longevity on 14 records.. which is something more than talent

Obviously this is just one persons opinion.

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And, managed to pile up 22 grammy's along the way, more than any other rock band in history.

When it comes to the combination of album sales, grammy's, longevity of the original band members and touring success over decades ... U2 stands alone and there's no one else that's really even close.

And, managed to pile up 22 grammy's along the way, more than any other rock band in history.

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Again, not arguing the fact that they ar a great band...
just don’t think they are the greatest, because there is no such thing as the greatest when it comes to music... it’s not a sport

Also Grammy wins mean nothing when it comes to music, Grammy wins equal popularity and record company influence ( at times ) and there is a lot of popular music, that won Grammys that is frankly garbage...

Again, not arguing the fact that they ar a great band...
just don’t think they are the greatest, because there is no such thing as the greatest when it comes to music... it’s not a sport

Also Grammy wins mean nothing when it comes to music, Grammy wins equal popularity... and there is a lot of popular music, that won Grammys that is frankly garbage...

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I don't think they're the greatest band in history nor are they my personal favorite. My point is that when you look at the really important data points that equal success, U2 kinda stands alone if you factor in the longevity of the original band members. That's actually what I find most remarkable about them is how the original 4 stayed together through extreme levels of fame. There's no other band that has done that and stayed as popular as they did. It's a very unusual and unique aspect of their success. For about a thousand reasons, it's extremely difficult for the same 4-5 guys that made that first breakthrough album to stay together and manage to maintain Tier 1 touring status for decades.

I've seen U2 a number of times in concert and find it absolutely ridiculous when I hear people question whether he's got "real" guitar skills or not. I agree it was great the way the whole band just let Mick and Fergie do their prancing and stayed out the way.

While there are millions of guys that can do the pentatonic thing to hit all the familiar bloooz touchstones that convey tribal bloooz street cred, there's only one guy that can do the U2 "thing" that has mesmerized global audiences for decades. He's an exceptional musician and he's worth hundreds of millions because of it, which pays a little better than sitting in on local blues jams.

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I was on the floor at Soldier Field about 20 feet from the band on the 360 tour. All four of them are the real effin’ deal.

Another thread got me thinking about this. The Edge is really awesome at his thing but can he do anything else? I know he doesn’t need too and he was definitely much better off for coming up with an original sound. Still, how would he fare at the local blues jam? Would he get smoked by a bluez lawyer playing a $5k PRS? How would it go?

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Blues playing may not be his style, but if he brought his style to a blues jam, wouldn't that add to the style overall? B)

I could see his throbbing, rhythmic chops adding a heck of a sound to it!